When Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss decided to hand the reins of the franchise over to his son Jim, there was probably not another Laker who was as happy as center Andrew Bynum.
Bynum has recently been the subject of plenty of speculation about his future as a Laker, and many fans have viewed the team's disappointing loss in the 2011 NBA playoffs as the beginning of the Lakers courtship of Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.
Howard is perhaps the most prized player in the upcoming free-agent class of 2012, and many people who follow the Lakers have had a bull's-eye on Howard since he said he wouldn't mind playing in Los Angeles during last season's All-Star break.
Whispers about Howard's potential decision have to be unsettling to Orlando general manager Otis Smith, who doesn't want to be left with nothing if Howard decides to bolt from Florida in the summer of 2012.
Smith may take a cue from Denver and Utah, who both chose a proactive approach when it came to the expiring contracts of Carmelo Anthony and point guard Deron Williams.
Neither team wanted to risk losing the cornerstones of their respective franchises for nothing in return, so the Nuggets and Jazz shopped around for deals that would leave them with young players and draft picks to build around.
The time may come when Orlando is forced to make the same decision if Howard makes it clear he will not renew his contract, and under that scenario, the Lakers would have a sizable bargaining chip in Bynum.
Bynum is young and he has shown flashes of star potential, and there are few other teams who could offer Orlando a player as talented as Bynum.
Of course, there are the ever-present questions concerning Bynum's health, but youth is still on his side as far as recovery goes, and if the Lakers were to include a few other young players, a deal for Howard could be realistic.
At least, until Jim Buss assumed control of the team.
It's hard to get a grasp of the reclusive younger Buss, but it's important to note that his decision to hire Mike Brown over the more familiar Brian Shaw speaks volumes about his intentions for the team.
The move to hire Brown could be interpreted as a way for Buss to get as far away from Phil Jackson and his triangle offense as possible, and the fact that Kobe Bryant wasn't involved in the coaching search means less of the team's focus will be on him.
That distinction will probably fall to Bynum, who, by the way, happened to be discovered in New Jersey by Jim Buss, and stands as his greatest contribution to the franchise since he has been involved.
It's a stretch to say that Buss' success is directly tied to Bynum, but it has been rumored that Buss is extremely supportive of Bynum and has even called him an untouchable player according to a May 26th story by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
That doesn't bode well for Lakers fans hoping to land Howard via trade, and the fact that point guard help is seen as the Lakers' biggest area of need makes a deal even less likely.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has strongly denied that the team was shopping Bynum, but you have to wonder, if the opportunity to land Howard ever presented itself, would it cause a rift between Kupchak and Buss?
Howard is one of those players that only come around once in a lifetime, and even though the point guard position is a bigger concern than the center position, how do you pass on a talent like Howard?
Most teams wouldn't, and I'm not sure if Buss' loyalty to Bynum would be enough to end the franchise's tradition of acquiring great centers, unless Buss truly feels he already has one of his own.
The Lakers will look entirely different on the court next season, as Buss has erased any vestiges of the Phil Jackson era by deciding to hire Mike Brown. Buss proved with that move that he fully understands how to end a legacy.
But can Buss also prove he knows how to build a legacy once the opportunity presents itself?
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